Harrison Burton makes feelings clear as a ‘huge moment’ unlocks a career-first NASCAR breakthrough

This year’s All-Star Race will feature Harrison Burton’s debut attempt at winning the prestigious, exhibition-style event. Things fell into place for the Xfinity Series driver after he won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 last August at Daytona International Speedway.

Burton, who competed in the Cup Series in 2024, will drive the No. 51 machine for Rick Ware Racing. Cody Ware, the original driver of the car, will return for his next points-paying race on May 25 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 29-year-old Greensboro native will drive the No. 15 RWR Mustang in the All-Star Open as he aims to qualify for the main event.

For Burton, winning a spot in the All-Star Race, that too at a historic racetrack like North Wilkesboro Speedway, is like a dream come true. The driver said in a statement (via Speedway Digest),

“Winning at Daytona last year was a huge moment in my career, and I'm thankful to Rick and the entire RWR team for giving me the opportunity to make that win count by putting me in their car for the All-Star Race.”

Burton is currently 12 races into the 2025 Xfinity season. He sits 10th in the driver standings with one top-five, six top-10s, and 307 points to his name. In his most recent race at Texas Motor Speedway, the speedster earned a P6.

“We've been building some great momentum in the Xfinity Series, and I'm looking forward to carrying that into North Wilkesboro and competing against the best in the sport,” Harrison Burton added.

The 41st All-Star Race is scheduled for Sunday, May 18. Fans can watch the 250-lap race live on Fox Sports 1, 8 pm ET onwards. Radio updates will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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NASCAR’s docuseries revisits Harrison Burton’s “surreal sports moment” at Daytona

NASCAR recently launched Season 2 of its docuseries, NASCAR: Full Speed, which features Harrison Burton’s 2024 victory at Daytona International Speedway. It also happens to be his favorite part of the show.

Burton took to Instagram and uploaded a montage from the day. In the video, his father and former driver Jeff Burton is seen congratulating Burton on bagging his career-first triumph. Burton captioned his post, saying,

“Check out NASCAR Full Speed: Season 2 on @netflix Pretty cool inside look at the sport we all love! I already have a favorite part of the show.”

Harrison Burton was going to be a free agent soon, but it didn’t stop him from logging the 100th premier-level victory for Wood Brothers Racing, his then team. The win locked him into the playoffs for the first time in his career. Veteran ex-Hendrick Motorsports crew chief and analyst Steve Letarte appeared in the video, calling it “one of those surreal sports moments.”